Around the World in 8000 days: Whistler - First Nations centre and the Rocky Mountaineer (Throwback post)

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Whistler - First Nations centre and the Rocky Mountaineer (Throwback post)

Whistler

Our second day in Whistler we visited the Squamish Lil'wat Cultural Centre. Here, representatives of these two First Nations tribes guide you around the exhibits that show us their traditions and culture, as well as what their homes are like and the activities they do.

Whistler

It is interesting to see the similarities and differences between the two tribes.

We thought that the centre did a good job of explaining the way of life, and was all the more effective for being run by the communities themselves.

Whistler

We also took a bit more of a look around the town. There isn't a great deal here; there are a number of outdoor/adventure shops so that you can stock up on anything you've forgotten, and the usual souvenir shops.

Whistler

We did like the look of the toffee apple shop, but managed to resist, as while they look great, toffee apples are fine until you get to that boring apple bit!

Whistler

We also noted all of the bins were bear proof, which was a timely reminder to keep an eye out when we were walking between the two areas of town along the edge of the woods.

Rocky Mountaineer

In the afternoon, we stepped onto the Rocky Mountaineer for our trip back to Vancouver. We were looking forward to some great scenery and a bit of First Nations storytelling on the way.

Rocky Mountaineer

Whilst I imagine that the Rocky trains that go around Banff and Jasper probably do deliver on their expectations, sadly this train doesn't.

Add capRocky Mountaineertion

The only storytelling was by the very definitely not first nations steward; it was OK, but nothing special, and much of his patter assumed that everyone had been on the train up in the morning.

Rocky Mountaineer

And the scenery just wasn't up to much. Most of the journey was through thick wooded areas, so you could see very little, even if there was anything to see. There was one good section through a ravine, but that would have been fleeting had we not had to wait there for an unscheduled stop.

Stawamus Chief, Rocky Mountaineer

The other area of interest was the sighting of the Stawamus Chief, a 700m granite rock in Squamish, which is important in First Nations folklore. The white patch shaped like a witch on a broomstick is supposedly the imprint of a witch that blew into the side off mountain; children are told that if they are naughty, the witch may be able to fly again. Unfortunately as we we passing this section, a huge freight train passed next to us, completely blocking our view for most of the time.